Sunday, October 30, 2011

...left till Halloween? I do love Halloween but today I am just not in the mood to make another Halloween card. Probably by tomorrow I will be but not today. But, look at today's Cupcake Inspiration challlenge photo. What's a girl to do? Well, this girl decided to use the cake as the inpsiration for a birthday card. What will you come up with? The Sweeties are always anxious to see what you think up, so join us in this week's challenge, we're sponsored by DTS. You can find all the details by clicking here.

I'm still wondering when things are going to get back to normal for me, by which I mean, that I'll have plenty of time for sitting down at my scrapbox or sewing machine and time to get to the computer to blog and browse. Well this weekend isn't it but it's all for good. My cousin and her husband are visiting. My brother and I are having a great time catching up and showing them all the great things there are to do and places to visit around the Sarasota area. AND they are having a great time not being in New Jersey for the unbelievably early first snow storm of the season.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

It's not just paper that obsesses me. There's needle crafts too. I've been parcelling out my time in order t﻿o do both.

This pattern is from "Frightfully Crazy" from the Buggy Barn. It's a funky pattern that was fun to do. Besides the machine piecing there's lots of hand work. To add to the primitive look I attempted to make my hand stitches uneven and most of the eyes have mismatched button irises. The machine quilting is a random jagged stick that often goes where it shouldn't.

Have you ever noticed how many photos of quilts have tops of heads and feet in them. That always cracks me up. The pooch had to get into the shot too and I just couldn't bare to crop him out.

Here's a close up of the square that has the mouth flipped down. What you can't see is that the stars, the inside of the ears, the nose, eyes and mouth are felt. The same felt I've been using on my cards. They are all hand stitched with a variety of colors of embroidery floss.

Checking out challenges I noticed that the Ribbon Carousel RCC26 is "Inspired by Halloween" and they welcom all forms of crafting, they just want you to use something that comes on a spool. Well, there was lots and lots of threads from spools used for this quilt. So what the heck, I'm going to enter it there, mostly so that some one will see it.

Since I posted this I have been trying to link this up with the Ribbon Carousel but can not get anything to move on that site. Is anybody else having problems with that site or maybe blogger is going haywire again. I don't really know what info to leave for the deets so if you want to know anything about it just leave me a comment and I'll try to answer you. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.﻿

Sunday, October 23, 2011

﻿and you know it...make a card. You can clap your hands or stamp your feet but that won't get you entered into Challenge #43 at Pile It On. This week the theme is to "Make a Card That Expresses Happiness in Some Way".

This little Jellypark Friend looks pretty happy to me, that's probably because she's too young to know what creepy things could be lurking in that pile of leaves. I won't tell her if you don't.

My good buddy Maddy just picked up her first set of copics and that reminded me of how helpful tips can be, So if you're a new copic user you may be wondering how I colored those pants. Here's my tip: First there's B21 over the entire area, then a small edging of B23 around the left bottom side, then a slim line of B24 just around those edges, followed by going over the entire area with the B21 to blend the edges. Then I take E40 and color over the light areas. I don't remember exactly when or how I discovered that using E40 over the blue looks like faded denim but I do know it was a happy accident.

If I ever made a bow out of fondant that looked this good I would consider it a miracle of biblical proportion. I would never even think about trying it, and I took all three Wilton cake decorating classes. Having taken those classes leaves me in awe of the cupcakes and cakes that we use for inspiration at the Cupcake Inspiration Challenges.

This week we're sponsored by Stamp Fairy. Make a stop over at the Cupcake Inspiration challenge blog to see what the rest of the sweeties have created, you'll also find the rules and the linky thingy.

My life is still in chaos, it's actually getting even more chaotic if you can believe that's possible. Now on top of the health issues for daughter and doggie we're expecting to move in about a month and I've got friends and relatives visiting over the next two weeks. Would somebody tell when retirement is going to get boring.

Friday, October 21, 2011

It's that time of year, when you see all the creepy stuff taking center stage. So at Stamping for the Weekend we want you to make something spooky. I hope you have as much fun as I did. First of all, while I made this my mind was on my good buddies (Eileen, Maddy and Edna) who just gave me a bag full of Halloween goodies. And it was a LARGE bag. They know how much I love Halloween stuff and over the years we've spent fun times in costumes (Maddy has some rotten teeth that will make you run for your toothpaste, she likes to sport them in her hillbilly get up) and on haunted hay rides (I nearly peed my pants on that one - Ei will remember the ghoul with the spider hanging out of his mouth and the creep in the spider mask) and camping trips (anyone remember Edna falling off, I mean dismounting from the horse) . We had great times in the fall and I was strolling down memory lane as I made this card.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again and that you'll make a spooky card for the Stampin' for the Weekend challenge #19. Stop on over at the blog to get some inspiration from the rest of the design team. I was blown away by their creations. You'll also find the rules and the linky thingy there.

Oh Boy! This was just too much fun to make. I don't know about you but I'm pretty much a big old kid when I sit down to craft. It's like back in those school days when you knew you had art class and couldn't settle down till you got there and then the smell of the glue and crayons was just intoxicating. Yeah, I'm an art nerd. ﻿I used to save my allowance till I had enough money to buy a big box of crayons. OMG, 64 colors put my head in a tailspin. Well, little has changed since those days and I still have a big box of crayons and I'm not afraid to use them.This card brought those feelings back because I got to play with a bunch of new toys that I'd been anxious to break out.First of this is Cuddly Buddly time for me. This week the Cuddly Buddly challenge #17 is "Best Friends". For this card I chose "Dancing on Ice", that way I had friends that I could use for a Christmas card. And of course they are an adorable couple that just happened to be a lot of fun to use. After I had the image colored I broke out the "Lost Found" Christmas paper that's been begging to be used, and then there's the Spellbinder's die that I have been dying (not sure if the pun is intended) to use. As if that wasn't enough fun stuff to launch me into craft nirvana I used a ribbon that's been sitting around forever AND flower soft. Now I have to try to calm down a little.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

How cute are these? I'd like to sink my teeth into that purple monster. These are your inspiration for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge. This week Prairie Fairy is back as our sponsor. I know you'll want to win the prize of 5 digis of your choice. So get your crayons ready and give it a go. The only down side of having Prairie Fairy sponsor us is that I have a terrible time deciding on an image.

For my card I chose Pumkin Dillan . Stop by the Cupcake Inspirations blog to see some other fun Halloween images being used.

If you've been reading my posts you know that things are a bit crazy for me. Well, they're getting crazier. The sellers of the house we are buying were finally approved for a short sale so now we have moving to add to everything else. I'm thrilled it's finally happening.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

One of my favorite sponsors is back for this week's Cooking It Up With Katie. Stamping Dragon Designs is sponsoring this week's challenge. This week's winner will receive four images. Even though I made my card for a girl one of the things I like about the dragons is that they are great for boy's cards too. So what do you have to do to win this fab prize. Just make a card or project using Katie's recipe.

This week's recipe is 1.) include some coloring, 2.) try a little curling and 3.) add a circle.

That's pretty easy peasy, even for a lunk head like me who had the card almost completed when I realized I hadn't paid attention to the recipe. I did color my image and I was ready to attach my lace ribbon flower with the pearl center which would have been a circle but I didn't curl anything. So, what's a girl to do. The orange ribbon was already in place and it wouldn't curl anyway. Then the thunderbolt hit me. Why not try curling a thin slice of card stock. Well, it worked and since it's the card stock used for the mats it's a perfect match. In case you are craft challenged and have no idea how to do this, it's very simple. Slice a sliver of the card stock and then roll it around a pencil and voila, you've got a curly ribbon. I stuck a glue dot on the card to attach the ribbons.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I think this is Jack Skeleton and Sally's wedding cake. Weren't they the perfect couple. A match made in Halloweentown. Where ever this cake came from it's a great inspirational piece for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge #131. This week we're being sponsored by Kenny K and there will be 3 prizes awarded so go your crayons sharpened up.

This week there's a second inspiration cake. So if you're not a fan of Halloween you can use the "Sweet 16" cake for your inspiration. So like I said before - go get those crayons ready.

CIC131b

I happen to be a big fan of Halloween so you know which cake I picked.

This week has been incredibly busy and stressful for me. My daughter had to have unanticipated surgery on Tuesday to remove a pilonial cyst and just a couple days earlier we adopted a puppy (our kitty was not too happy). So I haven't been paying as much attention to blogging as I normally would. Tomorrow we go back to the surgeon to find out if she can return to school. Keep your fingers crossed.

there's a tiny skull and crossbones charm hanging off the
linen thread whick is tied to the orange ribbon. if you
click on the photo to enlarge it you might be able to see it

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. I also hope that you'll play along with us at Cupcake Inspirations. We love to see what you create.

For those of you who have been waiting to see a photo of our new fur baby here's a pic of his adorable face.

His name is Bill Bailey. He came to us from Underdog which is a rescue group here in Bradenton. If you're looking to get a pet I encourage you to look into a rescue dog, I found Underdog by doing a google search for rescue dogs in my area. There are so many deserving animals in need of a home. Can you believe that Bill was slated for execution? I am so glad that Underdog rescued him and a wonderful couple were willing to give him a home till he was ready to be adopted.

It took a week but Shamus was finally willing to make friends with Bill.

Time to Pile It On, Just Because. This week the challenge theme at Pile It On is "Just Because" Our sponsor is Nikki Silvils, the designer of this cute scrapbook paper kit. This card was super easy to make, and if you're like my buddy Pam it's right up your alley. Pam would loves to fussy cut while she's watching a Yankee game. The beaver is cut out and popped up from a page that contains medallions and designs, the back is a sheet that coordinates with the other papers, which like the two used here are cute as can be for your fall cards or scrap pages.

Here's the deets:stamp - no stamp, the image is cut from the papersink - no ink - the sentiment is from the alphabet stickerspaper - Nikki Sivilsmiscellaneous - gel pen for faux stitching; twill ribbon; leaf charm' pin

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. Now, stop over to the Pile It On challenge blog to see what the rest of the design team created and to get all the details on this week's challenge.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Check it Out! That's what the Cuddly Buddly challenge #15 wants you to do. Use checks, plaid or tartan patterns. That challenge got me thinking of some Graphic 45 Christmas paper in my stash. Yeah! another Christmas card done.

Did you know that there are free digi images available at Cuddly Buddly. I can't think of a better deal than that. Click here to find out the details. I checked it out and was amazed. Go to the shop and click on the "Instant Downloads" menu. Click to list the images by price and you can view all the free ones. I clicked on the last page and made my way backwards from there. There's several pages filled with a variety of images. If you haven't made your Christmas cards take a look to see what's available. I picked up a couple Easter images too. Go on a spree, you can't go wrong at these prices.

After you've picked up some great new images why not use one to make a card or project for the "Check It Out" challenge. Who knows, maybe you'll win and then you can get even more images. You don't have to use Cuddly Buddly images to play along with us but we'd sure love to see what you do with them.

Don't be frightened, it's just time for Stampin' for the Weekend's challenge which is the "Colors of Autumn". It doesn't get much easier than that.﻿ You can make any kind of card or paper craft you wish, just use fall colors.

You can get lots more inspiration from the rest of this very talented design team by clicking here. All the details as well as a linky thingy will be there.

For my card I used a Teddy Bo image. I picked this one because not that long ago I wore a pumpkin costume just like it. That year I took a holiday but went into the office with my daughter. I wish I knew where those photos are, I would put one in this post.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. Now it's time for you to create something using the colors of Autumn. Don't forget to link it up at Stampin' for the Weekend. We love to see what you create.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

One of the most fun things you can ever get to do is be a guest design team member.﻿ This week I have the honor of being a guest designer for Do You Stack Up. The theme for the challenge is "Brown". The sponsor Delicious Doodles supplied this pretty image. Since I didn't plan on using brown on the image I went through my stash to find some dp that fit the theme and found some that I thought worked really well. I hope you'll take some time to stop over at the Do You Stack Up challenge blog and find some time to play along with us.

We applied to adopt a puppy and said we would be willing to complete the vet care that was scheduled. What we didn't plan on was our daughter getting sick and needing surgery just as we were getting the pup. Fortunately Liddy came through the surgery with flying colors but is going to need a long time for healing. The puppy goes for surgery tomorrow. So you can imagine it's a little hectic here and why I need to finish up this post quickly.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

This looks like something I would sink my teeth into so could somebody make a dozen of these and bring to my house for Thanksgiving dinner? On second thought bring them tomorrow, I'll get pie for Thanksgiving.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Sentiment as focal point cards are fast and easy. With the right paper and a few embellishments they look like a million bucks. There are lots of places you can find inspiration. This card was inspired by a card I saw on the Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp blog. If you're stumped or your mojo's gone on walk about, that's a good place to poke around.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. By the way, unless you've been on a desert island for the last 20 years you know that October is breast cancer awareness month. One of the easiest things you can do to help the fight is to click on the pink ribbon at the top of my sidebar. It's a good thing.